星期四 [ 2010-1-7 10:21:34 | watches1013 ]   Down the Rhumbline on the gun deck of aussie one. The roar of cannon fire thundered across Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day, 26 December 2005 as three veterans of the sport of ocean racing signalled the start of the 61st Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race--the famous Halvorsen brothers, Trygve and Magnus, and myself, the now (semi) retired yachting journalist. It was a momentous day for each of us, the Halvorsens recalling their great careers as designers, builders and sailors which saw them win five Sydney Hobarts, including three in row with Freya in the 1960s, as well as playing a major role in Australia's early challenges for the America's Cup. They also played a significant role in building fast attack torpedo boats for the Allies during World War II. For me it was a time to reflect on my long close association with the race, through my own, my sons and many close friends' participation in the ocean classic, as well as my career as a yachting journalist and commentator ranging back nearly 50 years. I still vividly recall many dramas during my time as CYCA media Roger Dubuis Watches director, including the tragic race of 1998 when I had to handle the hungry news media from around the world. It was indeed a proud moment to fire the 10-minute gun--right on countdown time, as did Magnus with the 5-minute gun. Unfortunately for Trygve, the cannon misfired (not his fault) as the signal flags came down to send the fleet away from the two lines north of Shark Island. The "Gun Captain", CYCA Life Member Alan Brown acted quickly with his order to the "Gunner's Mate" Hamish Grieve to fire the back-up cannon to officially start the fleet. In reality, the time difference was no more that a couple of seconds. In any case, the official starting signal was the lowering of the International Code signal flags on the Committee Boat OffShore. To be associated with two such distinguished yachtsmen and, indeed, such fine gentlemen as Trygve and Magnus Halvorsen was an honour to climax my career with the ocean racing classic. Looking out at the fleet of 86 yachts, so many of them sponsored, Trygve recalled that he and his brothers had never sought sponsorship. "Sailing was our sport, building motor boats was our business," he said. "In fact, apart from our own, we built few yachts." And many thousands of Australians can thank them for their boat-building skills, having spent a holiday afloat on the Hawkesbury aboard a Halvorsen cruiser. Aboard Aussie One I also had a chance to catch up with many past Commodores of the CYCA with whom I had a dose association as long-time media director of the Rolex Sydney Hobart and editor of "Offshore Yachting" magazine. Past Commodore John Messenger, recovering well from a recent operation, provided an excellent commentary on the start for the large crowd aboard Aussie One. He was among eight past CYCA Commodores on board--Bill Psaltis, Les McClean, Norman Rydge, John Bleakley, Graham Evans, Kerry Roxburgh and Hans Sommer being the others. Also aboard Aussie One was The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania's Commodore Marion Cooper and her husband Des, a past Commodore of the Hobart club, cheering on the four Tasmanian boats in the race. Just after the start, Commodore Cooper dropped a white rose in Sydney Harbour in memory of the late John Bennetto, a veteran of 44 Hobart Races, who died a Emporio Armani Watch week before the 61st race start. Sydney turned on a magnificent summer's day for the start of the 61st Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and Sydneysiders and visitors to the Harbour City responded in their thousands in giving the fleet the biggest send-off I hav Other articles:http://www.1jiankong.com/Blog/View/?351 http://www.cnshanzhai.com/Blog/View/?871 浏览(457) | 回复(11)
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